Chapter 19

Thursday morning – Luke

Iclicked the button that ended my online session with Dr. H. She'd told me that I was making good progress in my treatment. She was pleased that I'd gone to lunch and encouraged me to go out even more. I told her about Ellie and how everything seemed better with her around. I did not mention the kissing. Any of the kissing.

"Is this a woman you're interested in romantically?" Dr. H asked with a weird, slow emphasis on the word "romantically."

"No, no, no," I'd hastened to answer, but I'm pretty sure Dr. H could tell by the squeak in my voice that I was lying. Only it didn't seem right to tell my therapist that I was making out with my nurse/friend like we were in junior high. She knew the story of what had happened with the last nurse. The betrayal, that is. There had been no kissing.

To change the subject, I'd asked Dr. H what my next step should be. And to my surprise, she suggested traveling. "Stay away from home for a couple of nights. Try to enjoy yourself," had been her exact words.

The idea of traveling overnight was about as enticing as comparing car insurance quotes, but I knew Dr. H was right. I needed to take a trip. Which left me with one problem. Where to?

Dr. H had asked me if there was anywhere I wanted to go. Maybe back to Milwaukee for a weekend?

No. For some reason, Milwaukee felt wrong. "I have a condo in Miami," I'd explained. "I've only been there once. Been meaning to get back there." I'd bought it because Mark had mentioned that real estate was a great place to invest, and Miami seemed fun.

"Perfect," Dr. H had said. "Plan a trip to Miami."

As if it were that easy.

There was only one good thing about worrying about taking a trip. The prospect of it was about the only thing keeping me from constantly reliving my kiss—correction, kisses—last night with Ellie.

My multiple, hot-as-fuck kisses last night with Ellie.

Kisses that had happened with exactly zero shots of tequila involved. Only a little wine and a glass of beer. Which meant we had nothing to blame all that making out on but plain old-fashioned lust.

And that had been in abundance.

I mean, the minute she leaned over me and brushed my junk while trying to fish the stupid remote out of the couch cushion, I was a goner. Full hard-on. I'd never been so damn happy to have lost a remote in a couch. And when her hair skimmed over my hips and the scent of her lightly scented flowery perfume hit me, that was it. I broke. I mean, there is only so much a man can take.

Today I had one question. When the hell had just kissing become so damn hot again?

At first, I wasn't even sure I could just kiss her. I mean, I hadn't just kissed anyone since high school. Like early high school. Making out on the couch like teenagers made me feel young again. But it also gave me a weird forehead flop sweat that I'm positive Ellie noticed. And damned if I didn't have something that felt suspiciously like dueling guitar riffs in my stomach. I couldn't even recall the last time that had happened.

Meanwhile, I'd been grinning all morning each time I thought about her, and now I realized I was glancing at the door, waiting for her to arrive to check my shoulder. Hell, I was looking forward to seeing her again. What the fuck was going on with me?

I didn't have long to wait. Ellie knocked on the door and after I called out, "Come in," she poked her head in.

"You decent?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," I said, giving her a grin.

She was wearing a light-pink sweater and gray leggings that made her look like a total snack. I followed her into the bathroom, and even though Ellie didn't say much while she changed the dressing on my shoulder, I could tell she wasn't hurrying today. After she finished replacing the bandage, she allowed her fingers to linger on my skin. She curved her hand over my shoulder. When her other hand dropped to my waist and a finger hooked into one of the belt loops on my jeans, I couldn't take any more. Just seeing her eyes on me did something to me. I pulled her toward me and kissed her like my life depended on it.

Ellie responded by wrapping one arm around my unhurt shoulder and the other low around my waist. I pulled her tight against me. We kissed like that for what felt like hours and when I finally dragged my mouth from hers and rested my forehead against hers, I said, "We should definitely stay away from the bed."

"Yes, right. Stay away from the bed. Good plan," she breathed.

I kissed her again, and after a bit she pushed her hand against my chest. "While we're setting boundaries, I think we need to agree to a few things."

"Like what?" I said, pulling her toward me again.

Her hand remained firmly on my right shoulder, keeping me at arm's length. "Like there are no strings attached here, and as soon as I go back to Milwaukee, this is over."

"What does any of that matter now?" I dropped my head to her neck. I already knew it drove her crazy when I kissed her neck.

"I'm serious, Luke," she said on a moan. Hearing her moaning my name? Hottest thing ever.

"I'm looking for the Future Mr. Hoffman," she continued. "This is just for fun." She finished that downer of an announcement by pulling away from me entirely and arching an eyebrow as if looking for my agreement.

Nope. I wasn't about to agree to that because, frankly, thinking about the Future Mr. Hoffman made me want to put my good fist through a wall at the moment. Instead, I closed the distance between our mouths again. More kissing, less talking about future, hypothetical people.

Luckily, Ellie didn't insist that I answer her. She kissed me again and I turned her and hoisted her up on the bathroom countertop with my right arm. She helped by jumping a little, and there I was standing between her open legs cupping her firm ass cheek in one hand. She tasted like cherries. I buried my face in her neck and licked my way up to her ear. When my tongue dipped into the shell, her body bucked. Damn. Kissing this woman was becoming the highlight of my day. It was crazy. It was everything I looked forward to. I couldn't get enough of her.

She finally pulled away, breathing heavily, and said, "I have to go. I have a phone call with the event coordinator at the hospital."

"Yes. Right. Go." I said between kisses. "I gotta go meet the guys downstairs in the recording studio anyway." I punctuated each word with another kiss to her lips. I literally could. Not. Stop.

"You're going to make me miss the phone call," she said, her arms still wrapped around my neck.

I finally forced myself to pull away from her.

She giggled and jumped off the counter. "I'll see you later, Luke." She walked to the bathroom door and flipped her long hair over her shoulder. Then she looked back at me and winked, which did funny things to my middle.

After she left, I scrubbed my hand through my hair and expelled my breath in a long rush. I already wanted to kiss her again. Fuck. I was in so much trouble.